The Coldest Winter

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Smaller homeless encampments--often only one to three people--have taken root in many places around Ann Arbor. There's a futon mattress on the portico of St. Andrew's on Division, and a handful of people sleep on the grounds of First United Methodist Church at State and Huron. Homeless men and women sometimes sleep on picnic table benches or under the trees at West Park; others stay near I-94 off State Street, along the Huron River, and on various wooded lots around town.

As cold weather approaches, the need for shelter increases. About sixteen churches already take in a total of twenty-five people a night during the winter on a rotating basis. Activists are asking them to take more and are also seeking extra volunteers.

"I would imagine most congregations already involved would be willing to step up and do more," says Rev. Paul Duke of First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor. His church built a small pavilion for people to sleep in and has been reassessing what more can be done. Duke calls the growing number of homeless people in Ann Arbor "the biggest moral issue the city faces."

"These are extraordinary times," says Mayor John Hieftje, who's been involved in the planning. "I don't think we've seen anything like this since the Great Depression." The city and county are seeking funding to add twenty-five beds in a second rotating shelter and twenty-five more overflow spaces at Delonis, plus temporary housing vouchers for ten families. Hieftje says the goal is to have it all in place by Thanksgiving.